Center for Regional Studies

Center for Regional Studies

A Think Piece for the University of Missouri – Kansas City

            At a Charles N. Kimball lecture, held on campus October 22, 2002 that covered “History Speaks:  Visions and Voice of Kansas City’s Past,” a prominent member of the audience observed, “You know, we do not have a historical museum… To date we don’t really have a Kansas City historical museum where we can go and attach ourselves to our history.” The PURPOSES of this proposal are: 1) to establish a prominently visible home for regional studies of and in metropolitan Kansas City; 2) to provide a scholarly home, sponsorship and dissemination for scholarship and research in regional studies; 3) to coordinate public programs and academic offerings in the field; 4) to coordinate efforts in metropolitan schools in teaching history.

The story of the Kansas City Region of Mid-America is powerful and compelling.  It is the story of Trails and Rails, of Cultures meeting at a Crossroads,  and of personalities so strong that they helped shape a nation as well as a city and a region – Nelson, Kessler, Nichols, Pendergast, Adkins, Parker and Truman – to name a few.

            David McCullough has repeatedly remarked on how many crossroads of American history (temporal, cultural, geographical and political) pass through this region yet we have a disjointed, piecemeal approach to understanding our heritage.  The stories are told in bits and pieces at historic sites, in a variety of books of varying quality, through disconnected websites and media recognition that usually seizes upon the sensational or the obvious.  A great need exists for telling the story in a connected way that honors the context, celebrates the diversity and enlarges the humanity of this “center place” of American life.

The University of Missouri – Kansas City is in a position to bring people and resources to bear that can help tell the comprehensive story in many venues.  The time is propitious for such a collaborative effort for many reasons.  Not the least of these is the development of a National Heritage Trail on the riverfront of Kansas City, Missouri.  Moreover, Union Station – Kansas City can evolve into a central starting point for residents and visitors to explore the vast panorama of history of our region.  Although its revenue stream is vulnerable, its potential must be taken into account.  Faculty affiliated with the Center in 2007-2008 secured major funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the U.S. Department of Education, and Union Station-Kansas City.

   There is a great need for coursework and public program opportunities that will give meaning to the disparate collection of events and sites that currently attempt interpretation of parts of Kansas City’s regional history.  While the Kansas City Public Library, the Miller Nichols Library at UMKC, the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection branch and other entities have done much to provide original sources for interpretation, far too little coordination and support for interpretation has resulted.  Our own campus needs to reorganize its thrust in the field by amalgamating the prominent WHMC-KC with the hardcopy, manuscript, sound recording and digital projects of special collections at Nichols. Moreover, the concept of regionalism, whose nucleus remains its history, transcends the boundaries of disciplines often found on campus yet implemented by our federal government.  The interdisciplinary aims of the College in Architecture, Urban Planning, Environmental Studies and History can be brought to bear on the regional focus.  The Center for the City is evolving as a major connector.  A corps of able faculty at various institutions currently provides isolated courses that could be pulled together for greater participation.  Interaction of these academics with agency/bureau specialists should prove beneficial to the public.  The Center for Regional studies must prove the stimulus for cooperative and supportive efforts in these directions.

     The field is vastly under researched; there is a need for scholarly research support for the curious citizen, the middle school social studies teacher, and the professional scholar.  Twice before in our campus’s history we have sponsored urban history centers and scholars.  The goal remains worthy.

             The need for a full-blown comprehensive website that connects all the sources, sites and interpretive venues is present.  This would act as the Center’s virtual front door.  The Center could provide the nexus for such an effort through the development of a virtual “Encyclopedia of Kansas City” effort.  UMKC, through WHMC-KC, could host such an evolving site that would be available for access by students and interested persons of all ages.

Necessary Requirements for Creation of and Effective Center for Regional Studies

• Sufficient support to create a critical mass of scholars, interpreters, archivists and public history professionals that would oversee and participate in the various sponsored efforts of the Center.  Specifically, a Director, Faculty, Administrative support and Web support and a central place to function are needed.

• Central to the Center would be research done by scholars under the support of a Fellowship program which in turn would yield public programs.

• Clarity of purpose with regard to creating a sense of identity and belonging to the region’s students, long-time residents, new arrivals and even for tourists passing through the area.  A strong six member Advisory Board made up of regional history-related professionals needs to be charged with this task from inception of the program.  Our goal is to raise a $3 million endowment.

• Sufficient fiscal support or in-kind support to ensure at least a five-year commitment to the task.  Guidance of a Board of Funders would be critical.  Resources could include dollars from the University, from the Foundations and the private sector, from the National Heritage Initiative.

• Offering of at least four courses per semester [2 3-credit and 2 1-credit offerings] in aspects of regional history to be conducted at various locations throughout the region including Union Station and UMKC.  Noncredit offerings could be modeled on the Cockefair Chair program.

• Development of a comprehensive Kansas City Regional History Web Site that offers a developing Encyclopedia of Kansas City as the pilot project and centerpiece. The project might be separately funded or endowed.

• Pending receipt of worthy scholarly contributions, resumption of a journal of regional history as an occasional online publication.  Renamed Kansas City and the West.

• Provision for at least one public outreach per month on some aspect of the area’s history to the wider community.  Work cooperatively with Missouri & Kansas Humanities Councils.

• Explore potential for programs and exhibits at Union Station on a major topic in Kansas City regional history at Union Station.  Work cooperatively with Union Station and Center Faculty.  Possibility of restaging the programs at alternative sites such as county historical societies, Kansas City Public Library, Discovery Center, Bruce R. Watkins Center.

Pictures courtesy of "Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri" Kansas City Public Library Online, http://www.kclibrary.org/index.cfm